Meiji's Wolves
by SaitouuRyuuji
Summary: For the past 11 years Saitou's just been living his life, doing his job. But when his past comes sneaking from behind will Saitou have to go it alone to defeat the man with the intent to kill or will he have an unknown ally? Can Saitou survive?
1. Duel

Disclaimer: I don't own Kenshin or the characters that are about to be in this chapter. Cough. Cough Saitou. Zephon and any other character I use though besides the characters of Rurouni Kenshin are mine. Well this is the sequel to my story Miburo Wolves. Sorry this is so short I know that I've written more before but I think this will turn out to be a great fanfic. Please tell me if you find any mistakes spelling wise or grammatically. I hope you enjoy, I've just began reading Rurouni Kenshin again and wanted to write this sequel.

Chapter 1: Duel

"Oo-wah that sure felt good." A young man said after cleaning his face with the brisk cold water of a shallow stream meandering through the forest just outside the boundaries of Kyoto.

"Wow I can't believe that it's been ten years since the battle of Toba-Fushimi."

With a slight clinking of the katana in his hand the young man turned and walked deeper into the forest.

"Now I know its here somewhere."

Sure enough after a good fifteen minute's walk through the hilly forest the young man stopped at the base of a particular tree. It was huge and glorious to behold with the sun peeking through the dense leaves. The young man reverently knelt and pressed his forehead against his hands in the form of a Buddhist monk giving a prayer. Not quite a religious man he couldn't help but come out here year after year and give respect to the man who had fallen long ago.

"Father, I once again thank you for saving my life back then, please forgive me for I have decided to become a policeman and in doing so I'd be working for the very government you were trying to fight against."

Feeling rather calm the young man could almost hear his father's voice speak to him.

"Zephon, my son, you have done me proud. In order to survive into the new era you have to make adaptations I know, just remember to trust in what you believe and not falter."

Zephon felt all this through the calm surrounding him. "I still carry your sword as a reminder that I must not hate the Battousai. There have been some days that it has been really hard especially when I was young, but back then I'm happy to say that I ran into Saitou. He is actually what inspired me to be a policeman."

After he finished talking as if he were addressing his father he found himself thinking out loud.

"I still need to earn the money he gave to me, the money I started out stealing but then out of the goodness of his wife's heart Saitou gave it to me, haha, even I could tell that he was having a hard time with this. Well I better be on my way."

With that Zephon bowed his head low below his hands before bringing his head back up to clap his hands softly together twice. He then stood up, bowed reverently to the tree and fastened his katana to his belt. The katana being a gift from his father before he died felt very light to Zephon as he made his way down 

the many small hilly rises on his way back to Kyoto. In the past years he would stare at the katana his father had given him, watch the smooth material of the scabbard shine in the sun glowing fiery-red, the blade housed in the flames of this scabbard had etched, forever, the name of his family; the Meiyo clan.

To keep up with the training Hageshii had started with Zephon he would carefully use the katana to practice his kata, but having never fought in a battle once with the katana he didn't know how good he was with such a sword.

"Maybe when I get back into town I should see if I can find a teacher to help me with my Kendo skills, right now I don't think I'm very dept with a sword." Zephon murmured to himself.

Through his time alone there was one thing that he made sure he was good at and that was throwing weapons from things like kunai to tantou knives. Though tantou were a small dagger used for slashing and stabbing his father had shown him how to make use of them as a ninja might kunai. Zephon under Hageshii's tutelage learned to be able throw anything and make it a weapon. Though tantou could be useful for Zephon he liked kunai more had a set of his own throwing weapons (all kunai); all with the family name of the Meiyo clan, though for purposes of his own desires he found one of Hageshii's tantou to keep as a reminder of his father's greatness.

Zephon had been automatically walking to his destination, Kyoto, while lost in his thoughts. He was in Kyoto and before he realized it he was standing right in front of the Kyoto division police office. He boldly walked in and started looking for the man in charge.

"Chief Masurao here's another recruit to see you." An officer yelled from the front.

'Masurao,' Zephon thought to himself, 'in its own way that's quite a stately last name.'

A door in the back, hidden from view, creaked open and a deep voice rumbled, "Kouji don't you have any manners, you don't just yell from the front. You politely knock on my door and tell me, I hate it when you are so rude."

The man, Kouji, smiled slightly before being more polite. He went to the back and talked in private with Masurao before peeking around the corner. "Boy what's your name?"

"Meiyo Zephon."

Kouji disappeared again before the deep voice boomed out. "Meiyo, you may come back here now." Kouji reappeared and took his place back at the front. "Good luck boy, you're going to need it."

Zephon looked at Kouji strangely as he carefully walked past many desks to get to the back of the department. The department, itself, was a sight to see; many policemen going in and out others taking care of business at their desks. If that was grand then the office of Masurao's was even greater. Zephon could see it was one of many offices and by the looks of it was the biggest.

The man was sitting behind the biggest western desk Zephon had ever seen. As Zephon looked around amazed at the space the office had he spotted behind the Chief what seemed to be a couch, albeit rather long, probably for those long nights in the office. It got Zephon to wondering just how tall the man sitting in front of him was. He noticed that the walls of the office were decorated with many wall scrolls; the one just behind Masurao's head looked like a wolf hunting in the moonlight. Zephon soon realized that most of the wall scrolls had wolves on them; this made him all the more curious about the man sitting in front of him.

"Sit down Meiyo." Masurao commanded gruffly.

Zephon stiffened a little at the tone of voice but took a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs in front of the Chief. Zephon nervously watched Masurao lean back in his swivel chair watching him with his icy blue eyes as he passively touch his fingertips to each other with his elbows resting on his ribcage. Zephon shivered slightly as Masurao glared over his fingers.

"What is it that you want?"

Zephon gulped and averted his eyes to the desktop for a minute so he could find his voice and form the words he wanted to say. He felt nervous talking to this man; he so much reminded Zephon of a wolf. It wasn't because of the short black hair or menacing sneer that showed his fang-like teeth. No what he was nervous about was looking into those killer eyes. It felt like his heart was going a mile a minute the more he thought about those icy eyes staring at him. It was then that he was reminded of another wolf; Saitou. Strangely Zephon found he was calming down. Now that he thought about it he softly snorted to himself. This man before him no matter how much he glared with his icy blue eyes failed in comparison to Saitou's ruthless amber eyes that promised death to all who opposed him. Once he felt comfortable enough he looked into Masurao's eyes once more and spoke out, his voice betraying him as it rose in tone.

"Sir I want to be a policeman."

"Why?" That was all Zephon was offered in response. It made Zephon feel all the more uncomfortable having to explain himself to a stranger.

"I…I want to protect…Japan," Zephon stuttered at first before finding a comfortable rhythm in what he was saying, "It is the duty of a samurai's son to follow in the footsteps of his father and protect Japan."

All was silent for a long while before Masurao began laughing scornfully.

"Duty of a samurai's son? Don't make me laugh that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

Masurao's laughter was cut short when Zephon had the audacity to growl at the man before him.

"You may think its funny but to me it's a way of life. A warrior is a warrior until the day he dies and in order the warrior to survive he must adapt or be left in the dust. My father taught me this and for that I believe what I believe and nothing else."

To hide his surprise Masurao snorted and put up an air of disinterest. He secretly felt that this young man had earned his respect, but to make it harder on the young man he decided to play it cool and jostle him up a little bit.

"How can you live your life as a warrior if you haven't ever fought in battle with a real katana?"

"How…did you…?"

"Please spare me your ideals, you didn't fight those bloody battles during the Bakumatsu, you didn't watch as countless comrades died before your feet. You have an aura of innocence about you so I know for a fact that you haven't ever taken a life before."

It seemed as though a cloud were forming in the room as Zephon's mood became darker bit by bit.

"It may be true that I've never killed before but you haven't lived my life so you don't know what I've had to go through."

"Oh and what would that be?" Masurao inquired with interest.

"During the battle of Toba-Fushimi I saw my father die before me, and countless other people. My father died trying to protect me from the Battousai and in the end made me promise upon the sword he gave me-the sword I hold with me today-that I should not hate the Battousai. It's been the hardest. Not to mention that I've had to fend for myself for the past ten years, had I not ran into Saitou when I was younger I would have undoubtedly turned into a thief, because that's what I resorted to back then."

Masurao contemplated what he had just heard with great interest. 'Its not very often you find a man who has a warrior's spirit so untainted.'

"I've heard enough and I believe I was wrong about you."

"Huh?"

"I was wrong you're more a warrior than most of the men I've fought beside during the Bakumatsu. There were very few who possessed the spirit of a warrior and you, I'd honestly have to say, fit in with them."

It was then that Zephon realized what had happened. Masurao had just acknowledged him as an equal or close to it anyway. He also noticed rather sheepishly that in his anger he had left 

himself wide open to be read like a book. 'I really must work on that, but at least I have his attention.'

"But," Masurao continued after a pause, "Just because I said what I said, you still need to prove to me that you have what it takes to be a policeman in the new era. You may have a warrior's spirit but if you don't have the skills to match then I have no use of you."

"So what do you propose?" Zephon inquired with intrigue.

"Let's have a small duel shall we?" Masurao inquired his voice deep and thick. Despite the chills that ran up and down his spine, Zephon was excited to try out his skills for the first time; he could only hope that he remembered all that his father taught him. Silently he prayed that he would get lucky and pass.

* * *

The air seemed to be electrified and Zephon was now shaking with excitement he could hardly contain himself. Masurao couldn't help but chuckle softly as he watched Zephon in vain try to rein his excitement. Obviously the boy hadn't ever studied in a fencing dojo; this would be a whole new experience to him. Masurao had been leading the way to a local fencing dojo not too far from the police department where they would be having their little test. Once they made it they were greeted with the owner of the dojo.

"It's all yours for the time being, but just be careful not to damage the place too much or I'll make sure you pay for the damages out of your check." The old man wheezed as he led the way to the practice area. Zephon was so excited that he didn't pay attention to his surroundings to him the ancient hallways didn't matter all he wanted to see was the practice hall where many Japanese samurai from long ago practiced.

"We're here." Masurao stated stopping suddenly. It was a good thing Zephon heard what he was saying or else he would have plowed right into the back of Masurao and that wouldn't have helped things much.

Turning around to face the young man Masurao, "What do you think, rather glorious isn't it."

Zephon was in awe, he had always imagined the great samurai's of the past perfecting their skills in a kendo dojo but do actually be in one defied his wildest dreams. His father had never had enough money to send him off to a school to learn martial arts but he made do with teaching him what he knew; now he would be able to test his skill against somebody who had fought in the Bakumatsu.

"Boy, stop gawking and pay attention I'm about to tell you the rules." Masurao stated with much amusement. He felt he didn't have to be so harsh with the boy verbally since he passed that test, but that didn't mean that he didn't have to be harsh physically. So while walking to some bokken mounted to the wall he explained everything.

"The rules are simple. You only need to scratch me to pass."

"That's simple enough." Zephon reasoned as he reached for his katana.

"Hold up there boy I know you have more on you then your katana so in all fairness lay them off to the side and only use your katana to come at me with."

"What about you, I know there's more to this than that." Zephon commented while he began rummaging through his shirt pocket. Western clothes were actually quite nice for concealing weapons. He loved them so much that he often opted to wear holey but fitted trousers with a pouch stuffed full of kunai tied at his right thigh. He wore a messy shirt with a shirt pocket and over that an oversized, ragged coat that worked great to hide most of his weapons.

"Oh I shall explain that when your ready." Masurao snorted in dry amusement as he watched Zephon dig through his clothing to pull out all his weapons. 'How much could he have anyway?' Masurao thought to himself.

Ten minutes later Zephon was still pulling weapons out of his coat. He had already discarded the shuriken out of all his pockets as well as his kunai pouch. He was currently unfastening more kunai from the inside of his coat.

"Boy for crying out loud, just take off your coat." Masurao growled with impatience resting his bokken on his shoulders using his arms to anchor it in place. He had better things to do then watch this young man find all his weapons. Zephon just shrugged and with a loud clank he threw them off to the side. It was such a loud sound Masurao flinched when it hit the ground.

"Are you done boy?" Masurao drawled.

"I believe so."

"Well then this is how it works. You come at me with all your might; use some skill to land a small scratch on me. If I hit you five times with this bokken then you lose. Seems fair doesn't it?" Masurao asked waiting for Zephon to reply. Zephon promptly unsheathed his sword and threw his sheath in the pile of weapons.

Zephon smirked and dropped into his stance, both hands on his katana handle with his left foot in front of the right. Masurao too fell into his stance before realizing Zephon had forgotten one more weapon.

"Boyo, undo that tantou fastened to your belt."

"Oops sorry." With that Zephon's left hand slipped the tantou out of its sheath and before Marusao knew it the tantou wasn't too far from his head the weapon slightly springing back and forth. 'Ah so that's how it is, he left it to be the start of the match.' Masurao was amazed but didn't let it distract him. He took his cue and attacked swiftly only to have his bokken be deflected and caught in a power struggle. With the shuffling of feet against the tatami mat Masurao brought his foot up and vicious kicked Zephon away following after as he waited for his moment to attack again.

Zephon fell backwards head over heels to stop on one knee with time enough to once again defend himself against the warrior turned cop. Masurao put much pressure on his opponent's sword before suddenly releasing it to attack Zephon's side. Zephon was helpless there was on way he was able to move his sword in time and the attack came too quickly to dodge so he braced himself for the moment of impact figuring it was best to roll with the hit. It still hurt like none other and he couldn't stop himself from gasping in pain as the air was knocked out of his lungs.

"Smart to minimize the damage by going with the flow but I'm sorry to say I have one up on you." Masurao growled almost as if he were living the days of the Bakumatsu. Zephon then realized if he were to win he'd have to try harder. Masurao not having completely lost his head let the young man stagger to his feet before effortlessly bringing him to his knees again. In Zephon's eyes it was as if Masurao was actually dancing, he found he was having a hard time finding openings and finding himself always on the defensive. He did the only thing he knew how to do in such situations: think calmly, be patient and wait for the right opening; and it came.

After Masurao's fourth vicious attack on Zephon's shoulder this time he watched Zephon effortlessly get to his feet. He was no fool though he could tell that the poor man was in much pain and who wouldn't be after getting hit in the ribs twice, the shoulder once, kicked in the stomach and other various places, and poked in the stomach so hard that he left him incapacitated for a few seconds with dry heaves; bile threatening to spill over. One could only admire the raw spirit this man possessed. He also wasn't that bad with the sword and it led Masurao to wonder if he was really being dragged along thinking that he was winning.

Zephon rose to his feet and once again fell into his battle stance but this time it was completely different and didn't hold as many holes the previous times. He stared Masurao down his right foot in front and his left one in back to help with a thrust if needs be. His sword what right in front of him being held rigidly straight; he was now resonating out a powerful aura and it was then that Masurao knew he had only been taking those blows as a way to gauge the power of his opponent.

Masurao smirked and fell into a similar pose with his bokken also straight the handle just barely held above his head. The ending was soon and he didn't plan on losing, but then neither did Zephon. Zephon, with a loud battle cry, charged his opponent and a dull thud was heard as his katana was blocked by the bokken. He's sword may have stopped but his body sure didn't. Masurao found himself losing his balance as Zephon had swept his right foot out with his left. To offset Zephon's plans Masurao was able to keep a hold of his bokken with his left hand while he caught his weight on his right. After fluidly knocking Zephon's sword away from himself he pivoted on his right hand, caught Zephon's left leg in a scissor-like grip and was able to bring him down.

Zephon, well practiced in falling went with the flow, and slapped the mat to help absorb the impact of the fall. He wasn't on the ground for long though as he managed to break out of his opponent's vice-like grip. He stood up and went on the defensive when Masurao came charging at him once more. Suddenly realization struck at him like a ton of bricks, he actually noticed that Masurao was charging in rather blindly. This was the opening he was waiting for, though small Zephon was going to exploit it to his advantage. Masurao was so focused on taking his opponent down that he didn't see Zephon's hand fly to his belt. Zephon expertly yanked his tantou sheath out of his belt and used it to block Masurao's attack while he slashed at his exposed chest.

Masurao finally seeing what was going on jumped back quickly before dropping his guard all together. Zephon was confused when Masurao started clapping. It had been too fast for Zephon to tell but he was absolutely positive that Masurao had been fast enough to escape injury.

"Good job, good job." Masurao stated rather flamboyantly.

Zephon blinked a few times consecutively. What was this man doing the test wasn't over; he hadn't drawn blood yet and he hadn't been hit for the fifth time so what was this man up to.

"Ah by the look on your face I can see you don't believe that you scratched me but I assure you that you passed. Great fight I can't believe that a battle veteran like me fell for your trick."

"Trick?" Zephon questioned now feeling all the more confused.

'Hmm, maybe he didn't realize what he was doing. He must have done this by accident, and here I thought he had planned it this way. Planned to take my attacks and gauge my strength.' Masurao thought to himself as he watched the confused man just stare at him blankly.

"Never mind don't worry about it. Check around and make sure you didn't knick the tatami mats at all, the old man will have my hide if he finds any." Masurao instructed as he stooped over to examine the ground. Zephon did the same and much to the policeman's relief there was no damage; to the floor anyway. The bokken was a different story it was cracked and splintered as well as sliced up pretty badly. Zephon feeling bad was about to pay for it himself when Masurao his him over the head with that very same bokken.

"Baka this was the tool that I used so I naturally have to take care of it. You just take care of yourself and go see a doctor; I don't want to have you come in on your first day, two days from now, unable to move." Masurao growled while Zephon held his head trying to help the pain subside. His head suddenly shot up as he realized what Masurao was meaning, he actually had the job. Excitement flashed through his eyes and Zephon, in response, excitedly bowed and like a little child ran off without any further prodding.

"Tsk." That's the only sound Masurao uttered as he watched Zephon leave. 'So like a child but then again he does take after his father. He would have made a great Shinsengumi samurai just 

like his old man. Now there was a great samurai. Hageshii your legacy lives on in the new world.' Masurao thought to himself.


	2. Just One of Those Days

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Saitou or any of the other characters of Rurouni Kenshin. I hope that you like this chapter as it took me quite a long time to write. Haha School kept on getting in the way. Also I'm sorry that I haven't been writing very much on my other stories. I'll be slowly but surely be continuing them. I haven't forgotten them don't worry. Also Zephon and any other characters that don't appear in the Rurouni Kenshin plot are mine (except for Tokio, because she's mentioned by Saitou at one point.) Well without further adieu here is my chapter.

Chapter 2: Just One of Those Days

A faint systematic thrumming could be heard as Masurao thought long and hard about what he was about to do. It was an unconscious habit of his to tap his fingertips on the top of his desk while thinking but he only did it when he was deep in thought. This was one of those time for he had recently received some valuable information that if proved true could be quite catastrophic to the peace of Japan. He had to tread lightly and think carefully about whom to send over to Tokyo to investigate. Oh how he wished sometimes that life was as simple for warriors like they were back in the Bakumatsu, he could have used force back then and gotten away with it. Now it was almost impossible to do so and what only made it worse was the fact that the Meiji government was constantly trying to hide their past mistakes. This little problem he was currently facing just happened to be one of those 'little' mistakes. It involved the Battousai.

Apparently the Battousai had recently resurfaced and was wreaking havoc all over Tokyo. Not only that but rumor was going around that he was using the name Kamiya Kasshin-ryu as his fighting style. If memory served correctly that fighting style was created to preserve and protect lives not wreak havoc and maybe even kill innocent people; plus not to mention didn't the Battousai use Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu as his fighting style?

'Who can I trust to send on this mission?' Masurao thought to himself as he dug the base of his palm into his forehead, forcefully trying to massage away his oncoming headache. He had been up all night mulling it over but couldn't think of a single person. He was short of just forgetting it and going himself, but the only problem with that is he didn't really know what the Battousai looked like. If only he knew somebody who did.

"Chief you should get some sleep you look horrible."

Masurao growled at the offending voice.

"Well anyway I brought you some tea; you know to keep you awake. You look like you're about ready to drop dead."

"Zephon," Masurao grumbled trying to find something on his desk to throw at the man when he failed to find something he opted to glaring at him through half-lidded eyes, "you're just as bad as Kouji."

Zephon couldn't help but laugh at that statement, "Well since you sent him to Hokkaido somebody had to take his place." Zephon continued to laughed quietly as he set a small tray down the desk. Masurao looked at the tray as though it were offending him but at the sight of it his stomach began gurgling only adding to his ire. Zephon smiled when he heard Masurao's stomach try and tell its master it was hungry.

"Zephon while your at it could you run an errand for me and get some breakfast? I'll be in the office all day and haven't had anything to eat." Masurao grumbled.

"Sure, anything in particular?" Zephon asked as he made his way for the door.

'Soba, plain soba will do just fine' was the answer.

Zephon could hear Masurao grumbling about Saitou and soba as he left on his little errand. It made him wonder just how the Chief knew Saitou.

As soon as Zephon left on his little errand Masurao coved his face with his huge left hand, only his left eye was showing. He was motionless, as still as a statue. Since he had been up all night and well into the day he had an overbearing headache and knew that the only way he could alleviate the pain was by going to sleep but he knew that this case was too important. So when he found himself nodding off to sleep he stood up on his long legs and began to walk around; so with that he stood up, beginning to brood heavily about the current situation. With each thought his headache pounded worse it felt like his brain was going to explode if he thought of this infernal case anymore. As an easy remedie he decided to think back to when he first met Zephon. That young man had just barely made it into the police force by the skin of his teeth. He had grown in confidence and even skill. After that duel they had, Masurao was insistent that the young man show him what he was capable with the kunai as well as the tantou. He remembered when he first met him he had the fiery determination that even now was going strong. He certainly had gone through a lot especially after seeing his father be killed right before his eyes, by the Battousai no doubt.

It took the weary policeman about two full minutes before he realized he had stumbled across the answer to his dire question.

Zephon came back with Masurao's order only to find the man hitting himself in the head with his hand.

"How could I have been so stupid?"

Zephon was at a loss, he took his superior's behavior as a result of lack of sleep, but then the Chief was always weird; trying to act tough when at heart he was more than likely a big softy. Watching Masurao with a cautious eye, Zephon watched as his superior continued to only make his headache worse.

"What, pray tell, are you doing Boss?" Zephon questioned credulously.

Upon hearing Zephon's voice Masurao immediately stopped hitting himself. Almost as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jaw Masurao quickly and quietly slipped back into his chair and tried to act like nothing had happened.

"Finally I'm starved."

It took all the self-control he could muster not to laugh at his superior but he couldn't completely keep the mirth out of his eyes.

"Not a word." Masurao hissed as he slurped the noodles up ravenously.

"Sir I suggest that soon after you at least take a nap, I wouldn't want anything bad happening to you." Zephon suggested, slightly surprised at how ferociously his boss was attacking his strange choice of breakfast.

"I thank you for your concern boy and please stop staring at me that way, I just happened to remember something and you happened to come in the room right after I remembered." Masurao hissed trying to sound angry when in fact he was making himself look all the more ridiculous than ever.

"Oh is that what happened because for a second it looked like you were trying to bludgeon yourself into oblivion so that you didn't have to worry about your current case." Zephon stated rather bemused as he plopped himself in one of the chairs in front of Masurao's desk. With the way Masurao was eating maybe Zephon should have bought more than one bowl full.

"Oh, shove off Zephon." Masurao growled as he finished the rest of his plain soba and after a few minutes of silence spoke again, "speaking of which I don't have to worry about that case anymore because I know who I can send."

"Hmm, Who?" Zephon inquired lazily. Being with this man in front of him for a whole year made Zephon see a side of his boss that most people normally don't see; at first he was nervous around the man but after a few months that soon changed and strangely enough they seemed to enjoy each other's company enough that they could tease each other back and forth without feeling awkward and what Zephon was about to hear would prove to be at the top.

"I figured I'd just send you."

"Whaa…" Zephon protested his jaw dropping wide open. His back straightened and he stood up quickly from shock.

"What, I trust you." With that Masurao dropped the subject and finished eating his plain soba.

* * *

"How'd I get myself roped into this?" Zephon grumbled to himself as he clambered out of the carriage pulling his knapsack out of the infernal contraption right behind him. He had been riding, by carriage, all the way to Tokyo for the last few hours. It had felt so long he had lost count of just how long it had really taken.

"Only Chief would find a perfect way to seek his revenge and now I have to stay in Tokyo until I found out what is truly going on about Battousai." Zephon found himself growling to no one in particular as he slung his knapsack over his shoulder and began walking.

He was wallowing in his self-misery when he was almost run over by a black-haired girl probably only a few years younger than him.

"I've found you Battousai!" She yelled.

Zephon too shocked for words only had enough time to pull out a bokken Masurao had practically forced him to bring. This girl was nuts, what gave her the right to go challenging people left and right like they were the Battousai.

"Little girl, I am not the Battousai!" Zephon growled emphasizing every single word but it didn't seem to faze the girl as she continued to force poor Zephon back into a corner.

"You have nowhere to run, you devil."

"Girl, are you stupid, do you run around always doing this?" Zephon grunted angrily as he held off the girl's bokken. Man this girl was pretty strong for being a woman; it made him wonder if she had some formal training in martial arts. It was very apparent that she could use a sword that much was for sure; strong plus annoying. Zephon found that with ever word she yelled or with every swing of her bokken he was getting more and more annoyed. He was a very lenient man, and though known by few, it could be said that he was very patient. Not today though, it kind of didn't work that way when he was already in a bad mood. He was tired of this girl's outrageous yelling.

"Stupid girl, don't you listen? I'm not the Battousai." And with that Zephon found the strength to knock her bokken out of her hands and there upon he slid his own back into his belt.

Zephon could see that the girl was fuming and stopped for a short while to see if steam would come out her ears, she looked that mad. She frowned while picking up her bokken and once again got into a battle-ready stance. Zephon couldn't blame her for her bravery but rolled his eyes at her stupidity. In a flash Zephon closed the gap between them caught the girl's bokken by the blade; that way she wouldn't be able to swing it anymore.

"Let go stupid." The girl growled.

Zephon didn't do as she rudely requested but fiercely stared into her cobalt eyes with his hazel ones. He figured this was the best way to get things straight. They did say that the eyes were the window to the soul so if she looked into his while he berated her maybe she'd finally get the picture. The girl could only gasp and lower her gaze, apparently he didn't even have to say anything more.

"I'm so sorry sir, I didn't mean to…" the girl breathed quickly, "I can tell by your eyes that you aren't the Battousai. I'm so sorry I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am."

Zephon let go of her bokken and stepped away with only a hint of a smile. She finally believed him and that was all that counts.

"What made you think I was the Battousai, miss?" Zephon asked in a soft tone this time.

"I don't know, I just assumed upon seeing that sword you were lugging around." She explained before asking "Don't you even know that there was a sword ban put in place not but a few years ago?"

"I do, but I have a special permit to carry one so it's ok." Zephon explained.

"Oh."

"So what are you running around the streets of Tokyo yelling Battousai for?" Zephon inquired, this might be a big lead into his case. The faster he finished the sooner he'd be able to go back to Kyoto.

"Oh pardon my rudeness I'm Kaoru." The girl said rather timidly.

"And mine is Zephon nice to meet you."

"There has been a man running around claiming to be the Battousai but he says that he uses the Kamiya Kasshin style. That's my style." Kaoru growled with anger.

"Ah now I see, so you go around challenging any man with a sword in the hopes that he's the Battousai." Zephon deduced.

Kaoru blushed slightly and nodded before continuing. "Just not long ago I met the strangest man. He had red hair and a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek, but the weird thing about him was that he carried something called a reversed blade sword. Isn't that the weirdest thing you've ever heard?"

Zephon couldn't believe his ears. He couldn't believe that the Battousai was in Tokyo, this girl had just met the man, and maybe he had been true to his actions eleven years ago. Zephon remembered well when the Battousai had stuck his blood-soaked and broken katana into the ground as a sign of his new lifestyle. Zephon left Kaoru's question unanswered and began walking away lost in thought.

"Hey, where you going?" Kaoru questioned feeling rather put out.

"Sorry Miss Kaoru but I have business to attend to, it was nice meeting you." With that Zephon went off to find an inn to stay the night.

* * *

Zephon owlishly blinked his eyes before rubbing them; it was bright outside and made him wonder just how long he had been asleep. Light peeked out of the inn's barred window right into Zephon's face.

"Whaa happened I thought I heard a noise outside my room window last night." Zephon spoke out loud to himself as his speech was slurred from sleepiness. Though he wasn't fully awake he found himself in his clothes from last night and noticed he wasn't in his futon; in fact he hadn't even prepared his futon for the night it was still neatly stacked in the corner; looks like he had fallen asleep soon after he had finished his letter. He had stayed up rather late last night writing a letter to Masurao about his unexpected findings. According to the girl, Kaoru, there was an imposter Battousai running around using her dojo's fighting style as the official style the Battousai uses. Soon after he had written the letter he began to fall asleep and apparently had fallen backwards in a rather unceremonious fashion, Zephon realized when he tried to get up. Oh how he ached all over. All those aches and pains were soon forgotten though when he heard many whispers coming from all around the inn, especially just right outside his window.

"….did you hear? The Battousai struck again and injured a young girl…."

'Kaoru-san,' Zephon thought with guilt, 'I shouldn't have left her alone.' He assumed it was her anyway since she was the one looking for the imposter.

"….I also heard a red-haired man saved her."

Relief flooded through Zephon's body; if the real Battousai was with her then she had nothing to fear. So with that thought Zephon got up, changed and got ready for the day, including strapping his tantou and bokken to his belt-he opted to leave his sword behind. He had only stepped out of the inn when he felt as though someone's eyes were watching his every move, boring into his head. He suddenly turned just in time to see a shadow slowly disappear.

'What was that?' Zephon questioned to himself shivering slightly at the thought of a man with such a killer's aura watching his every move, it was rather unnerving.

Zephon shivered once more before heading off to mail his letter and since he had slept most of the morning away decided he would have lunch at the Akabeko's. Once he made it to the Akabeko he was ushered in and sat down, the one thing he had always loved about Tokyo was the Akabeko and their marvelous service. Because Zephon was so hungry-for being a rather skinny fellow he sure could pack the food away-he had ordered as much food as he could afford and was in the middle of drinking his tea when he heard Kaoru's excited voice practically yell.

'Well it seems as if she's ok.' Zephon thought with a wince.

"Oh that's great it was a healthy baby boy?!"

Oh, yes I think the family's last name was Furijata, man that baby was such a feisty fella." A deep but elderly voice answered back. Zephon rolled his eyes; the second person must be a doctor. He shouldn't even be listening in on their conversation, it's not like he knew this Furijata family anyway. He was about to ignore the two when he heard a voice he could never forget.

"That's great that it is."

The voice was soft yet had a commanding air behind it, almost too faint to catch. Only somebody who had been there during the Bakumatsu would remember that cold commanding edge of the Battousai. The man was finally here, this was the first time in eleven years. Zephon cautious looked back at the trio while still sipping his tea.

'I wonder how much the man has changed.'

Zephon nearly spit out his tea when he saw the expression on the Battousai's face. It wasn't one of coldness but full of smiles and maybe even a little naivety; if you could call it that. The man had been true to his promise for he had the look of a man who had gone through many trials, like his heart had slowly been unthawed and was replaced with kindness and the will to protect. The strangest thing of all was his eyes weren't amber they were…amethyst?

'That's sure something new.' Zephon thought to himself as he continued to stare at the Battousai. That man in return caught his gaze and slightly widened as if he recognized Zephon.

"Kenshin what is it?" Kaoru questioned as she followed his line of sight to where Zephon was sitting. Zephon not wanting to be discovered by the girl quickly turned around and focused on his food.

"This wanderer just thought he recognized somebody that's all it wasn't anything very important, that it wasn't."

Zephon sighed with relief, he had found what he was looking for by accident and had almost blown his cover. It would have been bad had the Battousai recognized him and it would have been a complete mess had Kaoru met up with him again by the sounds of it she was a rather temperamental girl, one minute laughing and joking or blushing and then the next she was throttling the Battousai.

Zephon smiled at the sounds coming from behind him, who would have thought that the Battousai would turn out to be such a kindhearted man, so lax in his attitude that he would actually allow Kaoru to touch him let alone throttle him to death. One thing was for sure she'd never be able to do that during the Bakumatsu. There was much cause to wonder if the Battousai hadn't really just flipped his lid or fallen off a mountain and received permanent brain damage or something because this sure wasn't the same man he had seen eleven years ago, and that very well was a good thing.

"Would you like anything more to eat or drink sir?" The waitress asked when she noticed he had finished everything before him. Zephon just smiled, pulled some money out of his pocket and moved to leave when some shady characters came into the Akabeko. The group, about ten people in all, sat down and started making a ruckus about sake, and wanting some entertainment. Some pounded the table while others looked around for people to bully. One man went so far as to roughly grab and catch hold of the waitress that had been talking to Zephon. All eyes were on the man and waitress as she screamed bloody murder and frantically tried to get away.

"Come here little missus, I'm not going to hurt you too badly."

The man had a wild look in his eyes that promised not only pain but defilement, and Zephon just couldn't let that happen.

Zephon could feel himself getting angrier by the minute, he shot a quick glance at the Battousai and found that the man too felt the same way, but since he was farther away he wouldn't be able to get there in time to help the poor waitress. The look of pure terror tore into Zephon's heart and he couldn't bear it any longer. In one fluid movement he had drawn his bokken, smacked the man's arm away from the woman and had even pushed the vile man outside into the street. Zephon followed soon after, his ki flaring as he was on high alert. As quickly as the group had entered the restaurant then all shuffled out just as quickly, angry that a man had dared to spoil their fun. They were going to make sure that this man answered for what he had just done.

Inside Kaoru ran to the sobbing waitress's side and helped her to her feet.

"Miss, are you alright?" Kaoru asked quietly while trying to calm the still hysterical woman. Soon after Gensai came to check the woman over and when he deduced that she hadn't been injured in anyway he turned his attention to the young man fighting among at least five of the ten men. He saw that two of the gangster-like men were sitting out watching the fight while there were three other men knocked out cold and on the floor.

'That man sure must be good, to have knocked three out.' Gensai thought with interest. He then saw a red blur run past him and soon Kenshin had entered into the fray.

* * *

Zephon found himself having a hard time dodging all the punches that came his way. He had managed to knock out one man with a bokken to the head and then knocked out the other two by punching them in the face but because the ruffians were coming at him from all sides he couldn't dodge everything and was now sporting a split lip, black eye and probably a broken rib. He noticed that the man he had attacked first was standing away from the fight as well as another man. He didn't know what they were doing but he didn't care at the moment as he was trying to make sure he came out of this alive. He was so focused on dodging the incoming punches that he failed to notice that the man was now charging in with a knife. He felt the knife bite into his right shoulder and then be pulled out again. The same man tried to do it a second time but Zephon know had his attention turned to the man. He swung his bokken at the man's hand and made him drop the weapon. The man growled in pain before trying to lash out with his fists.

That man didn't even get the chance; he fell forward and was unconscious even before he hit the ground. Standing behind the man was a small lithe man with red hair. Zephon could only smile at the irony; he was being saved by the Battousai. The other men stopped momentarily when they saw the man go down.

"You shouldn't gang up on people like that, that you shouldn't." Kenshin stated seriously.

"So what you idiot, this isn't your fight." One man growled.

Zephon smirked while holding his wounded shoulder with his left hand-his bokken was in his right hand-this man just doesn't know who he's talking to. This will be a good chance to see the Battousai in action, to see if he'll stay in wanderer mode or go into monster mode and kick some butt as well as maybe draw a little blood.

TWEET!

Unfortunately Zephon wouldn't get the chance as he heard the whistle of a policeman.

"Alright break it up, break it up." The policeman yelled. "You are all under arrest for obstructing the peace."

Zephon had his first taste of just how a Tokyo policeman acted like. He and the policeman around him had already taken care of the criminals but Zephon couldn't believe what he was hearing, he was going to jail too?

"Woah, what? Wait, that not right, these men had started it, I was just defending a woman that's all."

The policeman stared at the bloody and bruised Zephon as if he were a stain on his shoe.

"I don't care what you say, you're coming with me."

"This one doesn't think that is proper, this man is stating the truth, that he is." Kenshin stated adamantly, firmly backing up Zephon. Zephon nodded his thanks to Kenshin and smiled slightly when the policeman winced at Kenshin's hard glare.

"I don't care if it's the truth or not, both he and you are coming with me." The policeman stated rather shakily.

"I'm not going." Zephon growled.

"You dare defy a policeman?"

Zephon just wanted to tear that man apart, but at the same time he just had to kick himself at his own stupidity. Of course this man wouldn't know that he too was a policeman because he hadn't gone to the Tokyo precinct to tell them he was temporarily in Tokyo.

"I'm not going." Zephon stated again.

"You slimy dog." The policeman roared charging at Zephon. Kenshin was far enough away that he couldn't react in time. Zephon flew a good foot after being punched in the face. Everybody gasped in horror, a policeman had just injured a man that was only trying to help protect a woman. A large group had gathered to watch the man fight against the big group of men and so it was hard for Gensai and Kaoru to break through; when they did though they could only gasp in horror when they too saw Zephon go down and hit his head rather hard against the ground. Kenshin looked as if he were about to pounce on the policeman for the injustice he had just committed. He would have too had a strong but high voice break through the crowd.

"Stop this instant!"

The voice had come from a woman carrying a two year old boy in her arms. All attention was turned to the rather short woman with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her eyes, the color of honey, hardened to amber. Her presence was powerful felt by everybody; Kenshin was quite surprised that this woman knew how to project her ki in such a manner. The policeman too felt her angry ki and immediately froze. He had more reason to fear because he was quite familiar with that voice; it was the voice of Fujita Tokio the wife of the infamous Fujita Gorou-his boss.

"How dare you do such a thing to this man?!" Tokio growled while repositioning her son in her arms. He too picked up on his mother's anger and began imitating her with angry gestures, but in doing this he was squirming around a little too much and thus made it hard to keep a hold of him.

"He was obstructing justice." The policeman squeaked in fright. If it had been any other time Kenshin probably would have smiled at the actions of the woman chewing out the police officer. She had melted that policeman's daring and power craving heart into nothing more than a pile of gooey mush. Kenshin wasn't surprised when the poor man began to back away a little bit.

"You fool; he was protecting a woman's honor. Honestly why does my husband hire such stupid people." Tokio grumbled the second part as if she were all by herself. "Don't just stand there go find a doctor."

The policeman gladly zipped out of there, but it wasn't to find a doctor, he knew that once his boss found out about what had happened he would be in trouble. No it was better to quit being a policeman all together than face the wrath of what he thought was a deranged wolf.

Tokio just smirked; she knew that man was never coming back. Kenshin when he saw that smirk felt that it seemed oddly familiar. In a way it reminded him of that wolf of a captain Saitou Hajime of the Shinsengumi.

Having felt her satisfaction Tokio quickly made her way to the unconscious man, she carefully set down her boy and came in for a better look. The poor man had taken quite the beating with a black eye, split lip, stabbed shoulder and probably some other injuries that were hidden. His new wound didn't look any prettier. Tokio looked the man over from head to toe and notice a faint hint of red under Zephon's head where he had smacked his head against the ground. Everybody was still in shock from how she had treated the police officer and nobody moved to help her until she heard a gentle voice beside her.

"Woah there little boy I don't think you want to go that way."

She looked up and found that her little boy had wandered off and the red-haired man was bringing him back to her. She smiled when she saw her son's little fists tightly holding onto the man's pointer fingers.

"Tsutomu honey, please stay close to mama." Tokio cooed lovingly.

"Yes mama."

"Ma'am can I be of help?" Kenshin asked his face full of concern.

"Can you go and find a doctor?"

"There's no need, that there isn't." Kenshin stated before turning to Kaoru and Gensai. "Gensai-san can you come take a look at this poor man?"

Gensai rushed over all the while berating himself at being caught up in the moment. Kaoru silently followed and looked at the man with worry shining in her eyes. She was on the verge of tears, how could that policeman have been so cruel.

"Kenshin do you think he'll be alright?" Kaoru asked as she watched Gensai inspect Zephon's wounds.

"This one thinks he shall be alright, you needn't worry, Kaoru-dono, that you needn't." Kenshin answered softly, quietly calming Kaoru's beating heart. She nodded in trust, "You're right Kenshin; Gensai is a great doctor."

"It just looks like he's unconscious from the fall he took, there's nothing life threatening about that blow to the head he took. He'll have quite the headache when he wakes up but he should be fine."

"That's good to hear, now if you would help me carry him; my house isn't too far from here. You can treat his injuries there." Tokio stated as she looked for something flat to carry him on. She was at a loss when she couldn't find anything.

"I'll carry him on my back." Kenshin offered and with that they carefully put Zephon on his back and trudged away to Tokio's house.

* * *

Bliss, sweet bliss; nothing felt better at that moment than the sweet, dark nothingness. All pain gone, all worldly travesties absent, even time itself seemed frozen. That all changed though when color began invading the darkness and feeling pushed its way into Zephon's senses; and oh how it hurt. Once Zephon was fully awake he hardly cared where he was, he just wanted to sink back into the depths of his subconscious. His head felt like it was splitting in two and he couldn't do anything about it. The only blessing in his time of pain was the room he was in was in complete darkness. Since his senses were still clouded with pain Zephon more felt than heard the shoji slightly open. He was on high alert and as a fail-safe method decided it was in his best interest to feign sleep. IT didn't matter though as a soft, sweet voice cut through the silence; so soft it didn't trigger more pain.

"You don't have to pretend, I know you're awake. You don't have to worry you're among friends."

At hearing this Zephon sighed with relief and made to sit up but when pain coursed up and down his body he thought it better to just lie still.

"How long have I been out?" Zephon questioned quietly, keeping his eyes shut so as not to look at the light.

"Only about a day and a half."

Zephon wince at this, he still had to pay the inn for the room he wasn't using at the moment, the room with his….

Zephon suddenly bolted upright despite his pain.

"My sword, my sword is still at the inn." Zephon gasped half in pain, half in fear. He knew he should have taken his sword with him. His body hated him at the moment, his eyes opened wide as the pain blasted from head to toe leaving him gasping and rigid. A pair of gentle hands slowly pushed him back down.

"Don't worry about it, just tell me where the inn is and I will fetch your belongings."

Zephon smiled with relief, he would be eternally grateful to this woman for not only taking care of him but be willing to retrieve his things. In a shaky voice Zephon told her where he had been staying and watched as she gracefully left the room leaving it once again in darkness. Since Zephon couldn't do much he opted to try and fall asleep once more.

* * *

Today just wasn't a good day, neither had yesterday. Saitou's anger was raging and nobody wanted to be caught dead in his presence. He had been like this since yesterday when he had not only lost a policeman but he had found out from his wife that there was a wounded man in his house. He didn't know what was worse the fact that the Battousai had been in his house or that there was a complete stranger, wounded mind you, in his house alone with his wife and child; over the years Saitou had become very protective of his family, something only a wolf would do. Many people often passed this protective nature off as abrasive and harsh, but that was only in public. He put up that front only to protect his family; it was surprising how many people didn't know that he was married in fact Saitou could count all the people on both hands that truly knew. Tokio didn't mind not having very many people not knowing, in a perverse way she found it kind of funny when people accidentally found out.

When at home behind closed doors Saitou didn't put up such images because he felt like he didn't have to; Tokio already understood why he did such things and plus he really did love her and his little wolf pup, even if he didn't outwardly express it. He felt actions spoke louder than words and so when he was at home he would actually help her a little bit with cooking and housework. He wasn't a sentimental idiot but he'd be a fool if he said that he hated to spend time with his wife.

It was with this same wife that he was just a 'little' irritated with. He was angrier about the fact Battousai had been in his house then he was about the wounded man, that same man he had been watching come out of that inn, whatever its name was.

The more he thought about it though the more he remembered that she had never met the fool and so needing to find a different avenue to vent his anger he decided he find somebody to take it out on.

"Fujita-san, Fujita-san there's a big problem." A young man yelled as he tried to find his superior who wasn't in his office at the moment. He cut around the next corner and almost ran into Saitou. Saitou sucked air through his teeth and the expression on his face clearly told the policeman he wasn't happy. He hissed at the man making the man jump in fright; almost as if he were going to be bit by a poisonous snake.

"What is it?" Saitou spat, clearly in no mood to talk about anything; but to most people he was just always that way.

"I'm sorry sir I didn't mean to…" The policeman stuttered and Saitou just rolled his eyes before staring impatiently at the man. The man catching his drift stopped blathering and got straight to the point. "There was an attack from the Battousai; we have a hostage situation…"

"So?" Saitou drawled clearly not interested on something that normal policemen should have no problem taking care of. He personally didn't care about the current situation with this so-called Battousai running amuck. First of all because he wasn't assigned the case and second of all because he knew that the real Battousai didn't hold such ideals of running willy-nilly killing random people and thirdly the Battousai didn't use a martial arts that saved people his used the Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu that was designed to kill people. He also didn't really have the time to care he had a family to worry about; to protect and what was this stupid policeman still standing in his way.

The greenhorn of a policeman hadn't moved one inch even though it was clear that he was shaking terribly from fright he had a message to deliver and by golly he would do it. Saitou mentally had to give him his props because most people would be running the other way when confronted by him.

"Sir that's not all, Kawaji told me to tell you your wife is at that inn as well."

Saitou, who was a man who kept his emotions under control, took out a cigarette and lit it, but the greenhorn felt the air around them darken and become heavy; he even felt it hard to breath. He quickly bowed to his superior and ran as fast as he could away from Saitou and the smothering darkness. Saitou grunted his displeasure; today just wasn't a good day. He belligerently walked back to his office and sat down to think over the matter.

'Why would my wife be at that…'

Saitou didn't have to finish his thought as it suddenly hit him. It had something to do with that injured man in his house. He grabbed his katana off its mount and briskly marched past everybody in the precinct out the door. He received many strange looks for not many knew that he was married.

* * *

Zephon was rudely awakened when Saitou pulled him out of his futon and slammed him against the wall. Zephon was bleary eyed and semi conscious was duly mortified it looked as if a creature from down under had come up from the depths just for him. He saw amber eyes staring at him with the promise to kill. In fear he feebly grabbed at Saitou's hands as he felt the air forced out of him. He would have doubled over from the pain had Saitou not had such a firm hold on his collar. It was the pain that brought him to full wakefulness.

"Where did she go, where did my wife go?"

In the darkness Zephon had a good look at Saitou silhouetted by the light. It made him seem dark and very animalistic. Saitou's eyes held their own light and flashed amber making Zephon think of the past about the Wolves of Mibu. Saitou really was the epitome of that nickname for his face turned almost lupine. Zephon gulped and struggled against the firm hold on his collar. Saitou simply smirked and shook the man a little to loosen his hold and kill his will of escape.

"Where is she?" Saitou interrogated.

Zephon, feeling an appalling feeling of worry eat away at his gut. Something bad had happened and he realized that Saitou saw him as the reason his wife was missing.

Despite his fear worry took over and Zephon managed to croak out a question.

"What happened?"

"I'm the one asking the questions, where is my wife." Zephon cringed as Saitou emphasized the last words making them ring in his ears.

"She went to the inn where I was staying to get my stuff. I think she felt it her duty so she said she'd go." Zephon blurted out feeling the hole in his gut get larger he also felt as if his heart was slowly freezing, he now knew that it had something to do with him.

Saitou snorted in disgust while throwing the wounded Zephon to the ground. He moved to leave but Zephon quickly grabbed his bokken and tantou to join him-they both had been lying on the floor next to him.

"Where are you going?" Saitou growled without turning around.

"It's my fault she's out there plus it's my job to stop this false Battousai."

"What are you talking about?" Saitou asked clearly confused.

"Masurao sent me to take care of the matter." Zephon stated. He could hear Saitou muttering under his breath before hearing him say something about 'a good job you've done.'

Saitou's comment stung because it was true but he didn't let himself get down-hearted. He wouldn't fail in his mission or the lady who took care of him.

"I'm going with you." Zephon stated once more.

Saitou only rolled his eyes at Zephon's sense of justice.

* * *

"Come here little lady, you'll hurt yourself if you use that." One of "Battousai's" lackeys's said demurely.

Tokio lashed out with one of Zephon's kunai, as fast and accurate as a mantis hunting for its prey. She was adamant to neither use the sword nor hand it over; same went for the kunai in her hand.

"I won't and you'll be sorry if you don't just leave." Tokio warned as she drew herself up into an interesting defensive posture, crouched with right side in front of her left and the kunai firmly placed in her right hand ready to throw at any moment. The thugs laughed and one of them reached out to grab Tokio only to pull away with a hiss.

"You little wench you'll pay for that."

Tokio only scoffed, she had warned them not to do that plus it was only a matter of time before her husband came. She smiled at thought. She wondered just how these stupid men would react when they found out she wasn't lying about her husband. She could almost imagine the look of promised death shining in his eyes if he found her with any trace of injury. While she thought of what could be he had to mentally kick herself in the head for putting herself in this position. She should have known that she was being followed, or more like it she was at the wrong place at the wrong time. While on her errand to retrieve Zephon's things the inn had been attacked. She was currently the only person standing between them and the place being ransacked.

The Battousai, himself, just sat back and watched with hungry eyes. Eyes that promised defilement if he ever caught a hold of his victim; in his mind Tokio was a rare jewel that just had to be his. He licked his lips and stared.

Two or three people came after her and she quickly took care of them. In her time as wife of Saitou had made sure that she knew how to defend herself and the fruits of his labor were evident when she sent the men running away with their tails between their legs.

"Sir she's a monster, she can't be beaten." Many of the thugs whined.

The Battousai huffed in irritation; this damsel shouldn't be these hard to take down. He was about to take care of everything when people he had placed outside to watch for policeman began crying out warnings or just plain asking for mercy.

Tokio smirked, that hadn't taken Saitou long at all to come to her aid, not that he really had to she had taken care of most of the blockheads. The Battousai began getting a little antsy when he heard all the commotion.

He was about to grab Tokio to use as a ticket out of here when something flew out of nowhere and struck him in the hand. Battousai growled and suspiciously looked around donning an unimpressed expression when he saw Zephon bandaged up in several places staring back at him. The Battousai couldn't help himself; he tilted his head back and laughed. This man looked as if he were a lightweight, somebody who didn't know what he was doing.

"Leave Tokio-san alone." Zephon growled, trying his hardest to look more dangerous. This only caused The Battousai to laugh harder.

"What are you going to do about it?" The Battousai spat out emphasizing the word 'you' so with that he didn't heed Zephon's warning and reached for Tokio once more. Once again something hit the Battousai's hand this time piercing it. The Battousai's eyes widened in shock as he noticed a tantou sticking out of his hand; he then looked at the young man once more realizing just how serious he was.

"What's your name boy?" He asked in amazement, for the young man had just thrown a tantou from a fairly good distance.

"Zephon, now step away from Tokio-san."

"I'm sorry but I just can't do that." The Battousai answered with a deranged grin on his face, one that quickly molded into a face of fear when he felt cold metal pressed against his throat.

"Wrong answer." A gruff voice whispered in his ear making the more heavyset man shiver in fright.

"Tokio-san please come this way. Fujita-san is going to take out the trash." Zephon stated.

Tokio nodded grabbed all his belongings and even pulled Zephon's tantou out of The Battousai's hand. Saitou smirked as he watched his wife triumphantly walk to Zephon.

"You have made the biggest mistake of your life, that woman there is my wife, now I'm afraid I can't show you any mercy." Saitou growled. Zephon on the other hand moved to stop the former Shinsengumi captain.

"Fujita-san I can't let you do that, I must take him into the precinct to finish my mission."

Saitou snorted with derision but surprisingly allowed Zephon to take the man.

"We both know that you aren't the Battousai, Himura Gohei. You are under arrest for the many murders you have committed plus the impersonation of the legendary Battousai. You are also under arrest for obstructing justice and the peace as well as making Kaoru-san's dojo suffer. Do you have anything to say?" Zephon stated without so much as a bat of an eye. He personally didn't care what Himura had to say.

Saitou none-the-less was a little impressed. This young man took charge of the situation long enough for him to sneak from behind and save his wife from any further danger. What really impressed him was his skill in throwing things. He was about more than thirty feet away and he was able to expertly throw that tantou straight at the criminal's hand. It reminded him of a member of the Shinsengumi; Meiyo Hageshii was his name if remembered correctly. He didn't give it much thought until Tokio gave him his things. Among them was the sword that Hageshii always wore at his side.

Saitou, though shocked, didn't let it show. Instead he lit a cigarette and leisurely exited the inn-most of the people were now cheering- and followed Zephon to the Tokyo Precinct. The boy had said his name was Zephon, didn't Hageshii have a son named Zephon. If this was true then maybe he wasn't quite an idiot that he had first taken the young man for. Once they had jailed Himura Gohei Saitou decided it was now or never, he cornered Zephon and bluntly asked him.

"Was Hageshii your father?"

Zephon smiled, nothing got past Saitou's keen eyes. He bowed low and graceful.

"Aye sir that would be correct."

"Good, I need men like you. I'm going to file for your transfer to this precinct."

Zephon could only blink and open and close his mouth dumbly. He loved Kyoto, he didn't want to stay here, but he wasn't about to say this. Saitou just smirked and walked away.

* * *

A week passed by and Masurao could be seen holding a letter from Zephon. He could only sigh in relief the Battousai terrorizing Tokyo had been a fraud but the real one was there. Saitou had felt it a good idea for Zephon to transfer to Tokyo's Precinct so Masurao complied. Apparently when Kaoru had been told that Zephon was alright from his wounds and that he had helped in the capture of the fraud, she immediately tried to get him to stay at her dojo probably to take in another student, but he was now going to be under Saitou's command and so Saitou thought it better for Zephon to live with his family.

Masurao could on chuckle nervously before sucking air through his teeth. He wished the young man only the best of luck because Saitou in every sense was still a wolf. He even still lived the Shinsengumi's motto Aku. Soku. Zan. Slay evil swiftly.

"Good luck meh boy, good luck." And with that Masurao put the letter down and began working on his own cases.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It was fun but hard to write. I just hope I didn't get Saitou out of character he's sometimes a hard character to write.


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